Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an installation for carrying individuals down from a higher station (a mountain station) towards a lower station (a valley station). The installation has a guide rail which is fastened on a supporting cable at a distance above the ground. The guide rail comprises a multiplicity of sub-rails. Carriages with a chair, a cabin, or the like can be displaced along the guide rail.
A system of that type is described in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,669 and published European application EP 1 026 061 A2. There, the guide rail comprises a multiplicity of sub-rails which are connected rigidly to one another and are fastened on a supporting cable by means of brackets. Since, in the case of a rigid guide rail, those locations at which the carriages are located are subjected to very high loading in each case, the sub-rails and the connections thereof have to be of very large dimensions. In addition, such rails are also subjected to high levels of stressing, and resulting loading, on account of the heat expansion.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an installation for the downhill transportation of persons from a higher station to a lower station, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which reduces the loading to which the guide rail is subjected, for which reason the guide rail may be of smaller dimensions.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an installation for downhill transportation of persons from a higher station to a lower station, comprising:
a guide rail extending between the higher station and the lower station and along which carriages are displaceable;
a supporting cable fastening the guide rail at a distance above ground;
the guide rail being formed of a multiplicity of sub-rails connected to one another and displaceable relative to one another in a longitudinal direction of the guide rail.
In other words, the objects of the invention are achieved in that the sub-rails are connected to one another such that they can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.
The sub-rails, i.e., the rail sections, are preferably designed as tubular elements which are designed in their interior, at their ends, with in each case at least one crosspiece passing through the interior, one of the crosspieces being provided with a slot and the crosspieces overlapping one another, it being the case that at least one screw which connects the crosspieces is provided between two sub-rails. According to a preferred embodiment, each sub-rail is designed, at one end, with a first crosspiece which is provided with a slot, and is designed, at its other end, with two further crosspieces, on which a screw is fastened, the two further crosspieces butting against the first crosspiece on both sides and the screw passing through the slot. Furthermore, the sub-rails are preferably fastened on the supporting cable by means of supporting brackets, it being possible for these to be displaced in relation to the supporting cable.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the sub-rails are designed, on their outer sides, with at least one projecting bar along which guide rollers arranged on the carriage run, and projecting from the sub-rails is at least one further bar, which forms one of the two interacting elements of an electromagnetic braking arrangement. In this case, the at least one guide bar and the at least one braking bar may project more or less diametrically from the sub-rails.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an installation for carrying individuals down from a mountain station into a valley station, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.